Posted on 07/08/2007 4:20:20 PM PDT by RDTF
July is a month I sincerely hoped would never come.
At the end of this month, my young son, my only child, deploys with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit. His departure had been six months away, three months; now it is a matter of weeks.
-snip
The ironies of this conflict are many for me. More than 30 years ago, I wrote my master's thesis at Columbia University on "Political Integration of the Kurds in Iraq." Little did I ever suspect that any child of mine would be a pawn in a senseless conflict in that distant land.
-snip-
For a while, I even had an office with a view of Arlington Cemetery. I would frequently shudder as military planes did flyovers during funerals to honor fallen service members.
-snip-
Of course, it is too much to expect that George Herbert Walker Bush would have any recollection of that event, or that he would care that his son is putting my son, and hundreds of thousands like him, in harm's way.
-snip-
Can I expect my son to return unchanged by this experience? If the media reports are any indication, that is doubtful. Will his mind be seriously disturbed by what he sees, or will his body bear wounds that will not heal? Will we, as a nation, do all that we can, as Abraham Lincoln put it, " to care for him who shall hath borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan"?
Or will we continue to make veterans prove that they are entitled to compensation for the injuries they have suffered since we cannot make them whole?
Will it take a universal draft for President Bush and the rest of the country to understand the price that this war is exacting?
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
sorry - forgot the barf alert
The Marine son didn`t get to pick his Mom.
Did you understand the point she was trying to make? I sure didn’t.
These type people are self-absorbed, brain dead fools.
“Of course, it is too much to expect that George Herbert Walker Bush would have any recollection of that event, or that he would care that his son is putting my son, and hundreds of thousands like him, in harm’s way.”
Lady, your son VOLUNTERED, he was not drafted. God bless him.
Her son is an adult - 23. Did someone force him to join the Marines?
her son will most likely pay a high price for this
I'm honored this young man has chosen to protect me and mine by enlisting.
Strange that she has time to criticize the President, his father, the war but she can’t include her son’s name.
the article in the print version does - Lance Cpl Alexander Spottswood
I cannot think of one good reason for the word "universal" to be in that sentence.
You almost didn’t need to put the barf notice up. She seems to think that it is only the Republican Administrations that are responsible for her concerns. Her son knew what he was getting when he joined. She should just be proud, rather than a tool of the Left. She’s not helping him. She’s hurting him.
I came in under a Democrat, and was promised full medical & pharmacy for life once I made it past 6 months...I did 7 years active in the Army and a year in the Guard. The dirty little secret is that you have to fight to be “service connected” otherwise you have to co-pay. Mine should be an open and shut case, but it is not. That’s the only thing that ticks me off.
God bless her son. If he survived all of this and grew up to become a Marine he must be one heck of a guy.
I have the moral authority to say this woman is an idiot.
Another irony this moron can add to her bag of misery is that her son obviously rejects her worldview and has ideas of his own.
Ping
She blames only Republicans for the situation our country is facing. What she neglects to mention is that it was Bill Clinton that enabled 9/11 which is what has brought us to this point. He was more interested in looking out for his own selfish interests as POTUS than he was in watching out for this wonderful country. Dare to guess which side she will again vote for in 2008?
Yes, we're all dumb-dumbs with the empathic capacity of daffodils and need to be reminded that it isn't easy for mothers to send their children to war. Thank you.
These type people are self-absorbed, brain dead fools.
When did we start the draft back or who held a gun to her sons head? I guess she can't call her son stupid so she has to blame someone else.
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